Annual Report - forestry.org.au Reports Financial... · Page 2 Annual Report 2017/18 It was an honour last year to be elected as President of the IFA. I would like to thank retiring

Annual Report 2017/18

ContentsPresident’s Message 2Chief Executive Officer’s Report 41. About IFA 6

1.1 Mission Statement 61.2 Objects 61.3 Divisions 61.4 Secretariat 62.1 ACT Division 7

2. Divisional Reports 72.1 ACT Division 7 2.2 NSW Division 82.3 Qld Division 102.4 SA Division 122.5 Tas Division 122.6 Vic Division 132.7 WA Division 15

3. Membership 184. IFA Committee Reports 19

4.1 Foresters Without Borders 194.2 Forest Fire Management 194.3 Future Foresters Initiative 214.4 Jolly Medal Award Committee 22

5. IFA Financial Report 23Annual Financial Report 24

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Page 2 Annual Report 2017/18

It was an honour last year to be elected as President of the IFA.

I would like to thank retiring Board members Dr Hans Drielsma and Dr Neil Byron . Both made a significant contribution to the IFA. Neil was the inaugural Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and guided the establishment of good processes in budgeting and review.

Hans agreed to Chair the NW Jolly medal committee, and we now have an established process for nomination and selection. Hans was also heavily involved in the setting up of Foresters Without Borders as the Board’s nominee.

They both provided a wealth of experience and knowledge to the IFA and assisted us in looking differently at how we might meet the substantial challenges we face as a Professional body.

One of the big challenges we face is that we are reliant on a fairly small number of committed members to do much of the policy and representation work on behalf of the IFA. And not surprisingly they are all getting older and we need to ensure that we have a depth of experience and opportunities for professional development.

We have established a series of Policy committees to enable the IFA to be a more active participant as an advocate for a soundly based scientific approach to Forest management. The committee chairs have done a great job putting together strong committees with a mixture of backgrounds and experience.

Gary Morgan (Fire) , David Wood ( Foresters Without Borders) , Keith Lamb (valuation) , Glen Kile ( Editorial Board for AFJ) , Hans Drielsma (NW Jolly medal) , Stuart Davey (Scholarships) , Gary Featherstone (RPF) ,Rob de Fegely ( International Forestry Organisations), and Erin Hodgson ( Future Foresters). With the exception of Erin it would be fair to say that we are relying heavily on those towards the latter part of their professional career. The same could be said of our Divisional Chairs, with the exception of the two new recently appointed Chairs , Alex Lindsay (Queensland ) and Jim Wilson (Tasmania) who are mid career .

Our other Divisional Chairs, Dave Cromarty (NSW), Euan Ferguson (Victoria), Lachie McCaw (WA), Jim O’Hehir (SA), and Peter Kanowski and Brian Turner (joint ACT Chairs) do a great job, but they also reflect an ageing IFA membership.

The average age of an IFA member is around 60, and we are not recruiting younger members at a rate that will reduce that average .

So what does the future hold?

The Future Foresters Initiative is an attempt to better engage younger professionals , and the Board has adopted a much more inclusive approach to attracting new members with a more diverse education and experience.

President’s Message

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We have been partly successful but we still struggle to resource the significant changes we need to make in order to thrive rather than just survive.

A revamped RPF scheme which is endorsed as a prerequisite to give Governments and investors confidence in the independence, rigour and professionalism of RPFs is slowly being achieved.

A structured Professional Development Programme that offers opportunities for members whether early, mid or late career to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in technology advances in Science and the world of new means of communication is essential if we as professionals are to be held in respect.

We also need to improve the way the IFA and the profession engages in public debate, and the work funded by FWPA including research carried it by Pollinate ( Howard Parry-Husband) offers insight into effective means of communication.

How do we achieve all of these necessary improvements and how can we afford them?

We are not the only organisation facing such challenges. Australian Forest Growers (AFG) and the Ifa decided a few years ago to share offices, facilities and staff as we both went through similar challenges and needed to cut costs.

Our CEO Sarah and her team do a great job with the limited hours we can afford to engage them. They have done a lot of work improving the efficiency of our finance and administrative tasks, improving the website , and servicing the Board , Divisions and policy committees. They have acted as administrative support for conferences and seminars, been successful in attracting some grant moneys and dealt with day to day Member queries. Our Communications Consultant Nigel Catchlove has revamped the Forester and our email bulletins and assists in our advocacy.

Yet we still seem to be treading water and not achieving what I believe we are capable of.

We need to set some audacious goals, such as doubling our membership within twelve months ( which we could do if each current IFA member convinced one person each to join) , being the professional body that good employers come to to deliver training for their professional staff, obtaining value for money products and services for members ( such as professional indemnity insurance), and being the professional body that Governments seek out for policy advice.

The Board also need to work through what are the other options if we can’t achieve those lofty goals as we face an ageing membership and rapidly changing world.

I trust that we can face those challenges together and conquer them with your continued support

Bob GordonNational President


The 2017-18 financial year has been another busy one for the IFA with plenty of activity. Little would be possible without the generous time donated by members of our board of directors, divisional committees and other committees including Australian Forestry Journal (AFJ) Editorial Board, Foresters Without Borders, Forest Fire Management and the Future Foresters. I would like to thank them for this support, it is appreciated, and I know our members value the benefits they receive as a result. AFJ downloads have increased providing increased royalty payments boosted by the Special Open Access Issue. The citation ranking has improved and citation rate for individual papers has also improved with papers being cited in high quality journals. Thanks to the editorial board for their continued hard work. Thanks also to other committees and divisions; they have been busy hosting events, providing submissions on key issues, collating critical information for media releases, meeting frequently to drive IFA agenda’s forward while juggling the heavy workload of day jobs and other commitments. More can be read about their activities later in each of their reports.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the conference organising committee for the success of the 2017 Cairns conference. Chaired by the experienced and tireless Dr Kevin Harding, it would not have been the success it was without the time donated by Kevin and his committee. Barely a breath was taken after the Cairns conference before the decision to host a combined IFA-AFG conference in Canberra in September 2018 was made. Kevin Harding agreed to be a member of the Canberra conference organising committee so has been working hard again with a new committee chaired by Professor Peter Kanowski. To be hosted at University House, ANU, the Canberra conference is well on track to be another success; the program of speakers will not disappoint. Thank you to our sponsors for their support enabling us to keep registration fees at a very competitive, low rate compared to other conferences.

The year has also been marked by the announcement by Prime Minister Turnbull of his commitment to develop a National Forest industries Plan (Plan), to be delivered within twelve months of the announcement, scheduled for 12th September 2018. Key stakeholders were asked to provide input to the development of the Plan and the IFA has been involved in this process including subsequent stakeholder meetings. The Federal Budget announced in May 2018 included $20 million over four years for the implementation of the Plan but this is unlikely to go far, and consensus is there is unlikely to be significant funding announced as part of the Plan. AFPA has been key in lobbying the Government and highlighting that the

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

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forest industries are key to tackling the climate change challenge. The IFA is now a zero-dollar associate member of AFPA and we have been attending their quarterly meetings. The AFPA pledge: by 2030 our industry will achieve a reduction of an additional 18 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent, representing a major contribution to the national emissions reduction target. AFPA has outlined to the Government 6 building blocks to achieve this: 400,000 ha of new industrial and farm forestry plantations, ensuring existing forest plantations are replanted, increase the construction of housing/buildings in wood, use more bioenergy in industry, use more biofuels for transport and use more sustainably sourced biomass in power stations. We await the release of the Plan to see what initiatives may be included to assist our industry to expand. We are led to believe that part of the Plan will include a communication plan designed to address the social licence issue. Led by Howard Parry-Husbands of Pollinate, we are being encouraged to use words such renewable, high tech and forward thinking to improve our social licence and encourage young people to seek careers within forestry.

An issue highlighted as a result of our involvement in the AFPA quarterly meetings, particularly within the Grower Chamber, is the shortage of skilled employees within the forest industry. Finding it hard to source skilled employees has led to companies to poach from each other or source employees from overseas. The IFA will take a role in assisting to address this skills shortage. The first step we have taken is to revamp the RPF scheme and the number of RPF’s has significantly grown during the 2017-18, contributing to the professionalism of our industry. The aim for IFA in 2018-19 is to continue to grow this scheme and provide training and development opportunities to our membership and RPF members. IFA will liaise with AFPA Grower Chamber members to determine their priorities for training and development. We then aim to tailor professional development programs to address these areas in the first instance, drawing on the technical knowledge and skills within our membership base or outsourcing to others such as ForestWorks and Universities. We encourage you to become involved in our RPF scheme to contribute to increasing the skills within the industry.

The IFA office operates on minimal staff and other resources and I’d to thank the IFA team, Kenia, Anne and Kerry for their dedication. From the minute they arrive in the office they don’t stop, and the organisation benefits greatly from their above and beyond work ethic. Thanks to Plaxy and Parisa who also helped in 2017-18 but who have now moved on to other challenges. I’d also like to thank Bob Gordon and the IFA board, all energetic and focused people with a wide range of skills; I appreciate their support and the time they dedicate to the IFA.

Looking forward to working with you all in 2018-19!

Sarah ParadiceChief Executive Officer


1. About IFA

1.1 Mission StatementGoing strong since 1935, the Institute of Foresters of Australia is a professional body with around 1000 members engaged in all branches of forest management and conservation in Australia. The Institute is strongly committed to the principles of sustainable forest management and the processes and practices which translate these principles into outcomes.

The membership represents all segments of the forestry profession, including public and private practitioners engaged in many aspects of forestry, nature conservation, resource and land management, research, administration and education. Membership is not restricted to professional foresters. Other forestry professionals are welcome to join IFA.

The IFA is registered nationally as a Company Limited by Guarantee operating under a Constitution.

1.2 ObjectsThe purpose of the Company is to:

a. Further the science and technology and understanding of sustainable forestry in all its forms.

b. Provide training, assessment, certification and continuing professional development programs.

c. Develop and represent the issues around best practice sustainable forestry standards to governments, regulators, other professional associations and the community.

d. Promote consistent standards of regulation at all levels for the achievement and maintenance of standards for sustainable forestry.

e. Promote high standards of competency, professionalism and ethical conduct in providing professional services in the field of sustainable forestry.

f. Seek affiliations with other associations with similar or complementary objects.

g. Provide a membership body for individuals interested in sustainable forestry.

h. Provide opportunities for conferencing and discussion among members.

i. Provide guidance to individuals involved in the supply of services in sustainable forestry.

j. Provide information and liaison at government and other enquiries, investigations and forums concerning the field of sustainable forestry.

k. Use appropriate media to disseminate information concerning sustainable forestry.

l. Do all such other lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.

1.3 DivisionsThere are Divisions of the IFA in each State and the Australian Capital Territory, headed by the Divisional Chair and coordinated through volunteer Committees.

The Association of Consulting Foresters of Australia (ACFA) is a national Division of IFA.

1.4 SecretariatDay-to-day functions of the IFA are managed by a small, part-time secretariat based in Canberra.

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event. The successful regeneration of spotted gum forests on some sites but not others (a known problem for 50 years) brought forth much discussion but no guaranteed solution from the sage experts present.

Other events in which members have participated were:

• The 10th Westoby Lecture by Robin Chazdon entitled “Whose woods are these? Rising to the challenge of managing he global forest estate” held at the ANU on 27 February;

• The International Day of Forests (March 21) celebration at the National Arboretum, together with members of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and ANU’s Fenner School, where several speakers reflected briefly on the living legacy of Canberra’s urban forests, challenges of climate change and opportunities afforded by a living infrastructure in these contexts;

• Canberra Tree Week in May in which a highlight for IFA members was a Friends of ACT Trees dinner where IFA Fellow Alan Brown gave an illustrated presentation on “The Domestication of Radiata Pine”, the title also of a book which he recently co-authored;

• Guiding tours for visitors of Westbourne Woods adjacent to the Australian Forestry School (AFS) site;

2.1 ACT DivisionBrian Turner

At the ACT Divisional AGM in August 2017, members learnt that the long-standing Chairperson (Stuart Davey) and Secretary (Mark Parsons) did not wish to be re-elected. Two members (Brian Turner and Peter Kanowski) offered to co-chair the Division and were duly elected. We would like to record our thanks to both Stuart and Mark for their many years of service to the Division. Subsequently, Geoff Roberts emerged as Secretary. Other members of the Divisional Committee are Cris Brack, Stuart Davey, Rachael Dawes, Peter Langdon, Mark Parsons and John Sedgley.

We started the year’s activities with an informal get-together for all members, in the Fellows Garden at ANU’s University House in early November 2017. This was attended by about 30 members (out of around 70 total). Among suggestions for future activities which surfaced was a field-trip to the South Coast (NSW) forests, perhaps jointly with the NSW Division. This came to fruition in April 2018 when a one-day field trip of about 30 members of the two Divisions, and partners and students, was held in the Batemans Bay area on “Spotted Gum Silviculture and Health”. We thank NSW members, Ian Barnes, Dave Cromarty and Vic Jurskis, as well as the local organiser, Lee Blessington of Forest Corp NSW, for helping make this a successful

2. Divisional Reports


• Raising concerns to CSIRO on maintaining the heritage value of the AFS precinct at Yarralumla;

• Keeping alive with the IFA Secretariat the digitisation of historical copies of IFA Newsletters and Conference Proceedings as raised at the 2017 AGM in Cairns.

Much of the activity of Co-Chair Peter Kanowski has been taken up by his involvement as Chair of the IFA-AFG Conference in September 2018. It is expected that other Divisional members will be co-opted in the running of the Conference in time. The Division extends thanks to Professor Kanowski for providing space for Committee meetings at ANU’s University House and to the IFA Secretariat for on-the-spot advice and help.

2.2 NSW DivisionDave Cromarty

After a somewhat inactive year in 2016-17, an effort has been made to reinvigorate the Division during 2017-18.

There have been no active Branches within the NSW Division during the year so any activity has been at Divisional level.

Our AGM was held at NSW Forestry Corporation’s Head Office at West Pennant Hills on September 7th hosted by FCNSW CEO Nick Roberts and attended by President Bob Gordon. Nick and his CFO, Anshul Chaudhary gave presentations on

the finances and strategic direction of the Forestry Corporation as well as the deployment of new technology with the organisation.

In order to facilitate more activity within the Division, a loose committee structure was formed, attempting to achieve a broad spread of geography, experience base and employment. The size of the committee has been a little cumbersome so there have been no formal committee meetings during the year but it does provide a good resource base for consultation and delegation. Communication between committee members has been by way of phone calls and emails.

Committee member Sebastian Pfaustch represented the Institute at a forum on Sustainable Development hosted by the Federal Department of Environment and Energy in Sydney in September 2017.

Nick Cameron has continued as an active committee member and represents the Institute on the NSW Government Timber Industry Task Force. This provides him with some familiarity with the machinations of government and gives the Institute an opportunity for some input into the development of policy and legislation. Of some concern, however, is the fact that Government tends to perceive the IFA as an industry advocate rather than a professional body concerned with the full range of social, environmental and economic benefits of forest management. In this context, both Nick and I were invited to and attended a briefing session on the 20 year review of the NSW RFAs in December 2017 where we were able to provide some input.

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with valuable input from NSW member, Vic Jurskis and ACT member Stuart Davy. One outcome of the day was the republication of George Baur’s NSW Silviculture Notes on the IFA website.

Vic Juskis has also been working hard during the year and with some success at both the peer reviewed and media levels, on the interplay of fire, ecosystem health and iconic species issues.

I have been working jointly with Qld Chair, Alex Lindsay on putting together a fire seminar tentatively scheduled for March 2019 in the Northern Rivers of NSW and covering Northern NSW and Southern Qld.

As Chair and being based in Albury, I have also continued my involvement in the management of the National Foresters’ Grove in Albury. The Grove was the initiative of Bob Newman and was established on vacant land administered by Albury City Council as a bicentennial project in 1988. There have been many improvements over the years and it now stands as a popular park attracting travellers as well as locals and providing some insights into the Forestry profession for the broader community.

A particular highlight of the year was the induction at the Cairns conference of NSW committee member, Christine Stone, as a Jolly Medalist.

The NSW Government has also been reviewing its Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs), which were the State level of regulation under the RFAs. We made a submission to this process making the points that:

• Environmental outcomes have been poorly defined in the process with too much emphasis on iconic species rather than overall ecosystem health;

• Research and monitoring in the first 20 years of RFAs/IFOAs has been poor and needs to improve – in particular, the assumption that reservation without appropriate prescriptions will lead to desired outcomes needs testing;

• Prescriptions and monitoring need to be tenure-blind and at the landscape level.

The NSW Government has also been busy reviewing its regulation of private native forestry. The legislation is designed to control timber harvesting rather than forestry more broadly. It appears to be based on the premise that the less harvesting that occurs, the better the environmental outcome. It has also been framed with a view to enforceability and punitive sanctions for non-compliance rather than achievement of desirable outcomes. As such, it flies in the face of the NSW Timber Industry Roadmap and the Division has been active in trying to address these issues.

The Division conducted a joint field day at Batemans Bay with the ACT Division in April with the focus on Spotted Gum silviculture and forest health. Lee Blessington form NSW Forestry Corporation hosted the day


President, Bob Gordon. The first event was held at the University of Queensland, where invited speaker, Dr Don Butler of the Queensland Government, outlined the potential for carbon farming in the state. The second event was a brunch, after a leisurely ride through the forest at Pomona; all local participants survived the ride unharmed.

January saw the distribution of the Qld Division’s first regular newsletter. This was produced in response to the 2017 member survey, the clear message from which was that members wanted more news and information about happenings in the local forest management sector. A second newsletter was published in April, and a third is planned soon.

April saw three forestry events in one week in Brisbane. The first event was a dinner hosted by the Qld IFA celebrating World Forestry Day, featuring guest speaker David Rowlinson, the ‘Make It Wood’

2.3 Qld DivisionAlex Lindsay

The last twelve months have been very busy for the IFA in Queensland, starting with the IFA National Conference, which the Division hosted in Cairns. I would like to thank the Conference Organising Committee, particularly the Chair, Dr. Kevin Harding and the Co-ordinator of the Speaking Program, Dr. Frans Arentz, for their efforts in creating an event which was highly enjoyable, and intellectually stimulating, featuring speakers from Australia and overseas discussing many aspects of forest management, particularly in the tropics. Did I mention that the weather was perfect?

In November the Division hosted two events in southern Qld allowing members to meet the newly elected National

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on the committee, particularly from the non-production sector, to help us continue to revitalise the division, and increase the satisfaction of members with the Institute.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the very great honour I had in April, of meeting HRH The Prince of Wales, at Mossman Gorge. His Royal Highness was in Queensland to open the Commonwealth Games, after which he attended many events, including a Forestry Round Table organised by the IFA and NZFI, to hear about forest management issues with the responsible Federal and State Ministers, and a small group of invited guests. I am very thankful to Rob de Fegely and the other organisers of the event for inviting me to attend, in my role as Chair of the Queensland Division.

My own personal highlight however occurred in Cairns just before the opening of the National Conference, when the Institute bestowed Honorary membership on Keith Gould. Keith is a quietly spoken, humble man, who served the profession with honour and distinction throughout his career, and is regarded very highly by those who know him from his time working in regional Queensland, and in China. For those who would like to learn more about Keith, there is an excellent profile piece written by Tony Willet in the August 2017 Forester Magazine (page 39 – 40).

I am very conscious of the legacy of Keith and many of his peers, who built the forestry profession to such a high standard during their careers. My hope is that through the Institute we can support the forest professionals of today to emulate and build upon those high standards.

campaign manager for Planet Ark. A big thanks to IFA Fellow Dr. Kerrie Catchpoole for organising this function. The following day the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries held an open day marking a century of forest products in Queensland. Over 100 people attended the event at Salisbury Research Facility, which has Australia’s largest research capacity in forest product research and development. The centenary event was a feature of the pre-conference field trip organised by Timber Queensland (TQ), as part of their highly successful “Doing Timber Business: Room to Grow” conference. TQ have been actively promoting forestry in Queensland in the past year, including farm forestry, under the direction of TQ CEO and IFA Qld member, Mick Stephens.

In June around a dozen members enjoyed a field trip to Amamoor State Forest, west of Gympie. They learned about a range of forest management issues, including water quality testing from the Mary River Catchment Management Group, and hardwood plantation research from Qld Division committee member Dr David Lee.

The field trip was organised by HQPlantations forester Alison Dillon, the most recent (and youngest) member of the Qld Division committee. Alison, David, and the other members of the Divisional Committee (Kerrie Catchpoole, Tom Clapson and Tony Willett) have all contributed significant time and effort in the past year towards a shared goal of increasing services and maximising value for members, and I would like to acknowledge them all for their efforts. We have set ourselves some ambitious goals for the coming year, and would like to have more members join us


2.4 SA DivisionJim O’Hehir

The SA Division has two Branches, the Adelaide and the Green Triangle centred on Mount Gambier.

The Adelaide Branch held two well attended dinners including their annual Christmas event. GT Branch held a meeting including dinner with a presentation of visiting South African foresters.

The major technical event supported for the year was conducted out of the South Australia but involved leadership and technical input from Green Triangle members. An Inventory and Estate Planning Special Interest Group Workshop on 14 August 2017; was co-organised and co-chaired by the SA Divisional to align with the 2017 IFA Conference in Cairns. This was very well attended by 35 people comprising resource management practitioners; growth and yield modellers, systems developers and appraisers. The purpose of the workshop was to identify and prioritise relevant research project themes for development into FWPA or other research and development project proposals. The workshop comprised two parts: presentations and priority setting. The presentations and their topics were:

• Jerry Leech – describing the history and function of the previous research working groups.

• Brian Farmer – Research priorities & operating structures

• Keith Lamb – IFA Australian Forest Valuation Standard Subcommittee

• Christine Stone – Future applications of dense point clouds

• Chris Lafferty – Described the process associated with the special interest groups from an FWPAs perceptive

The output of the workshop was a report: Research Priorities for Australian Forest Estate Planning and Inventory. Editors: Christine Stone, Kevin Cooney, Jim O’Hehir.

2.5 Tas DivisionJim Wilson

The 17/18 year can be characterised as a positive rebuild for the Tasmanian Division. The year commenced with a successful AGM partnered with the Australian Forest Growers in Launceston. The Tasmanian Divisional Committee was formed with strength in numbers and good representation across the forest management sector in Tasmania. As many of the Committee continued their service from the prior year it is appropriate to acknowledge that the Tasmanian Division is indebted to outgoing Divisional Chair, Bob Gordon, for his leadership in pulling back together a functional Committee after a difficult period of restructuring for foresters in Tasmania.

Pleasingly, for most Tasmanian foresters the professional operating environment has now restabilised into a space we are proud of.

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in many respects similar to the national stage, such as the promotion of a more inclusive membership model that appeals to the broader community of professionals working in Tasmania’s forests. Further, and perhaps more specific to Tasmania, the challenge exists to a promote an enhanced culture of fellowship as together Tasmanian members can do even greater things to advance our profession and make an active contribution to the management of our forests.

2.6 Vic DivisionEuan Ferguson

Key issues:• Informing

stakeholders of our views in anticipation of the upcoming Victorian election in November 2018.

• The proposed Great Forest National Park and the conservation status of Leadbeater’s possum.

• Member survey influenced the Victorian Division activities - particularly forums and field days.

• Significant work done to tighten up membership list.

Advocacy and networking:The Division, through its Committee and co-opted members has been busy with various matters including:

• We sent our GFNP Position Paper to all Victorian politicians. It has been pleasing to see the Position Paper being quoted and referenced in media and in Parliament. A motion to reject

The Committee’s focus this year was twofold, (i) promoting a heightened sense of fellowship amongst the Tasmanian Division, and (ii) establishing protocols for the Tasmanian Division to promote sound forest management as a significant stakeholder with certified forest managers. Pleasingly, good progress was made on both these fronts. Specifically, the Committee finalised protocols to actively engage in calls for stakeholder feedback during forest certification audits, and has provided so far supportive feedback to one forest manager. This is a positive initiative that raises the profile of the IFA, and provides constructive feedback / support to our certified forest managers.

The Tasmanian Division also hosted a delegation of foresters from the Pacific Islands for a week of Tasmanian forestry, coordinated and led by IFA Fellow Graham Wilkinson. This visit provided a great opportunity for fellowship with two functions coordinated in Hobart and Burnie with the aim of promoting fellowship amongst foresters. The Hobart function was particularly well attended. The Committee would like to acknowledge Graham for his leadership in hosting the delegation to Tasmania and his willingness to engage with the IFA Division as joint hosts.

Amongst other activities for the Division, the Committee made a submission to the Tasmanian Special Species Management Plan, provided a formal nomination for the NW Jolly Medal in 2017, and participated in the IFA Strategic Planning Workshop in Canberra during January 2018.

Membership in Tasmania is growing slowly at 90+ members. Looking forward, the challenge for the Tasmanian Division is


Green- Forests, fire and a flawed conservation culture.’

• The Chair visited East Gippsland to inspect the mechanical fuel reduction trial.

• We attended a briefing held by the University of Melbourne on a ‘Re-imagined’ Master of Forest Ecosystem Science course program.

Events, field days and forums:In mid-2017 the Victorian Division conducted a member survey to determine the issues of significance to members. The outcome was a clear set of priorities for the next 12 to 18 months. The following field days and forums were conducted in response to member feedback:

• ‘Multiple use forestry field day’ to Powelltown State Forest (28 Oct 17)

• ‘New generation plantations discussion forum’ (convened as part of a University of Melbourne forum) (1 Mar 18).

• ‘Agroforestry field day’ in the Otways (acknowledging the assistance of Master Tree Growers Rowan Reid and Andrew Stewart) (22 Apr 18).

• ‘Drones in forestry’ information forum (12 Jul 18).

Events in planning include:

• ‘Women in Forest Fire’ (to be presented at the AGM by IFA member Ruth Ryan AFSM).

• Field Day in Melbourne’s water catchments (Nov18)

• ‘Forest fire forum’ (including an update on mechanical fuel reduction trial in East Gippsland).

the GFNP proposal was only just defeated in the Legislative Council.

• We were disappointed to note various published articles on forest management in Victoria that, in the view of IFA, fell well short of the expected standard of peer reviewed scientific journal papers. We responded to a number of articles in the media and in published journals.

• Two members attended a science “round table” organised by DELWP to discuss future Regional Forest Agreements.

• We sent a letter in response to the report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into VicForests’ Operations.

• We made a submission to the Victorian Environment Assessment Council (VEAC) in relation to the Central West Victorian Forests Investigation, promoting multiple-use forestry. Our request to the Minister to appoint, on a temporary basis, a forestry specialist to the Council, was rejected.

• We attended a University of Melbourne forum on ‘New Generation Plantations’.

• We attended a meeting of the Farm Forest Growers Victoria.

• We attended the Greening Australia 35-year celebration.

• We attended the launch of IFA member Rowan Reid’s book ‘Heartwood-The art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit’.

• We attended the launch of IFA member Mark Poynter’s book ‘Going

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I also thank our members Gary Featherston and Erin Hodgson for their contribution to the IFA Board.

My workload, with a number of lengthy interstate assignments, and my wife inheriting a 1200 ha family farm has put a strain on my capacity to meet the role of Chair. I intend to step back from the Chair of The Victorian Division Committee. Megan Graham has indicated her willingness to take on the role. I thank the Committee and the IFA for their support in the last 2 years. I intend to remain on the Committee to support Megan in this increasingly busy role.

2.7 WA DivisionLachie McCaw

The WA Division held its annual general meeting on 5 September 2017 at the Boulevard Centre in Floreat with 13 members attending and nine formal apologies received. Members discussed and endorsed the new strategic directions and branding for the Institute, including the new logo. John McGrath gave a presentation on the topic of bio-energy from forests which outlined past and present utilisation of biomass from plantations and native forests and examined emerging opportunities and the global factors of supply and demand that will ultimately dictate market opportunities. John’s presentation provided a timely reminder of the scale of biomass utilisation in the Western Australian Goldfields during the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century when the volume of timber

• Central Victorian field day on farming for ecological diversity.

IFA member matters:The Victorian Committee were thrilled to see that our nomination of member Rob Youl OAM for the NW Jolly Medal was accepted, on the basis of his tremendous contribution to tree growing on private land and to the Landcare organisation, both local and international.

We also congratulated IFA member Gary Morgan on the award of the Member of the Order of Australia and to Ruth Ryan on the award of the Australian Fire Service Medal.

Considerable effort was taken to ensure the Victorian membership lists are up to date. We tried to determine why a number of members were unfinancial, and encouraged them to maintain membership. Current Victorian membership is 304 (31% of total), including at least 30 student members. We have also proposed an ‘IFA member ‘point of contact’’ process (which is still in its early stages).

We’d like to thank the IFA National Office and President Bob Gordon and CEO Sarah Paradice. We hosted Bob and Sarah to our December meeting and received a briefing on the IFA activities at a national level.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to our hard working Victorian Division Committee: Megan Graham, Gary Featherston, Mark Poynter, Keith Maplestone and incoming member Gavin Livingston. A special thanks to our tireless and meticulous Secretary, Peter Fagg. During the year Denis O’Bryan resigned from the Committee and we thank him for his efforts as a Committee member over the years.


sector. Known as the Djarlma Plan, the plan is inspired by the Noongar concept of the ‘Djarlma’, which reflects the interconnected relationship of people with forests and woodlands. Four key themes of the plan are:

• Healthy forests and woodlands

• Wood products and ecosystem values

• Industry for the future

• Community benefits

Key themes raised by the Division during consultation sessions included:

• The need for a long term vision encompassing development of both native forest and plantation sectors, supported by stable government policy settings in which development and investment can take place

• Opportunities for silviculture to enhance a wide range of forest values including ecosystem health, water, and forest productivity

• Development of markets for small native forest logs of variable quality to support effective silvicultural treatment of regrowth forest

• The importance of fire management, including broadscale prescribed burning, for protecting forest values and the community from bushfires

• The extensive knowledge and understanding of Western Australian forests that members of the IFA can draw upon in guiding future directions in forest management.

A draft of the timber industry development plan is scheduled to be released for public

extracted for firewood to fuel the mines and pumping stations on the water pipeline exceeded 30 Million tonnes. Despite growing in a harsh semi-arid environment the Goldfields woodlands have regenerated with great vigour and continue to provide a broad range of values to the community including recreational opportunities, biodiversity conservation and high value speciality timbers. John’s presentation is available for viewing on the IFA website .

Advocacy for better management of forested catchments in the south-west of the state continued to be a strong focus for the Division during the past year. Land-use changes and a persistent drying trend in the climate over the past 35 years have caused very large reductions in stream flow. The Division has continued lobbying Ministers responsible for the Forests and Environment portfolios to make them aware of the Institute’s concern over the need for active catchment management to sustain a range of forest values, and of the opportunities that silvicultural treatment can provide. Frank Batini has led the WA Division’s efforts on catchment management and his dedication and persistence are greatly appreciated.

Representatives of the WA Division took part in a public consultation process undertaken in April to inform a new timber industry development plan for the state. The plan is intended to shape the direction of future investment and jobs, and provide opportunities for collaboration, innovation and growth in the forest sector. It is also intended to act as a road-map to integrate efforts across industry, community and government to provide a focused direction for the sustainable development of the

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plantation industry, environmental services, private forestry and academic institutions. This highlights a key role for the Institute in providing a forum for members to interact and exchange ideas and experiences outside of their day to day work environment. Three members of the WA Division participated in the Forest Industry Leadership Development program which was supported by the National Office of the IFA. An ongoing challenge for the Division is to engage effectively with members working in northern and inland parts of Western Australia where distance prevents regular gatherings and the topical issues may be different to those in the south-west of the state. The Division is also mindful of the need to engage with students and demonstrate the benefits of professional networking through the IFA.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Alby when the south-west of Western Australia experienced destructive winds and widespread damage from bushfires. Through their role as champions of prescribed burning foresters played a vital role in mitigating the worst impacts of this event. Many members of the IFA also took on key responsibilities during the response and recovery phases of the incident.

Once again I would like to acknowledge support from an enthusiastic Divisional Committee comprised of Danielle Wiseman, Amanda Rukuwai-Donnelly, John Clarke, Peter Beatty, Brad Barr, Tim McNaught and John McGrath who have met regularly throughout the year.

comment in mid-2018 but this has not yet happened, so at this stage the scope and directions of the plan remain to be seen. The WA Division Committee intends to provide comment on the plan when it is released.

Foresters Wood near Manjimup continues to be an important project for the Division, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase the diverse benefits that forests and plantations provide to the community. Visitation of the Wood is increasing, with a growing number of people from the local community appreciating the site as plantings mature. The Wood is a popular destination for family outings, picnics, special events and is well used by off-road cyclists travelling the Munda-Biddi Trail. The annual working bee at the Wood in May 2018 attracted a strong contingent of volunteers who worked enthusiastically to clear heavy undergrowth of bracken and blackberries from around the grove of walnut trees, many of which date from the 1940s when the area was a tobacco farm. Ongoing support for the Foresters Wood from the Western Australian Parks and Wildlife Service coordinated by Tim Foley from the Warren Region office is appreciated. The Division is preparing an application for funding from the WA Lotteries Commission to expand interpretation facilities at the Foresters Wood.

Membership of the WA Division has continued at around 90 people and it is pleasing to report that a number of new members have joined. Composition of the Division reflects the diverse nature of forest management in Western Australia and spans public forest management, the


3. MembershipTotal IFA membership stands at 998.

This is in improvement on 2016/17 and is influenced by an increase in free student membership’s rather than an increase in paying members. This bodes well for the future if students can be retained A proportion are international students who will likely return home to work and, based on recent experience, will allow their membership to lapse.

We will continue to promote our reduced overseas membership rate for developing countries.

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first sponsor Midway Forests has provided FWB with funding support.

The FWB Management Committee has continued with the consolidation of processes and plans, with completion of Culture and Ethos Statement and Strategic Plan with current work focused on a list of frequently asked questions, brought about because of inquiries received about support from FWB from several project proponents.

We appreciate the need to communicate the activities of FWB to IFA members and to the broader audience of potential partners and sponsors. A current priority activity is the review of information about Foresters without Borders that will be published on the IFA Web site.

Foresters without Borders continues to reach out to potential partner organisations such as Engineers without Borders Australia with appointment of Joseph Hall, a student at Melbourne University agreeing to be the FWB liaison person with EWB. We are also building up a list of contacts throughout Asia and the Pacific to develop potential partnerships using our network of IFA members to assist us.

4.2 Forest Fire ManagementDuring the year many items of interest were raised for discussion by the Committee and consideration given to possible IFA actions (e.g. whether or not to make a submission, support local foresters, or provide ideas and support to those directly involved).

4.1 Foresters Without BordersForesters without Borders successfully completed their first project in Fiji with IFA volunteers Tim McNaught and John Steer drafting a National Rural Forest Fire Strategy for Fiji. This project involved a number of Government and community based organization in consultations and a Fire Management Strategy Workshop on 23-24 November 2017 at the Fijian Resort in Sigatoka. Tim and John were assisted by IFA members David Dore, Stephen Walker, Brett Shields and the FWB committee. This project has resulted in a lot of goodwill in Fiji and has provided excellent publicity for the IFA and Foresters without Borders

Foresters without Borders continues with the disbursement of funds for the “Rebuilding Vanuatu Forestry” project. The Vanuatu Foresters Association has provided progress reports on the project. Negotiations continue with the Vanuatu Department of Forests to set up a technical assistance project for Department staff to increase the forestry knowledge of people who have qualifications in other fields.

The FWB Management Committee has been expanded with the appointment of four new members and extension of term for four of the original committee to three years. A sponsorships and partnerships subcommittee under the leadership of John Halkett has been formed. John has produced a prospectus for potential sponsors and partners to consider and our

4. IFA Committee Reports


and the encouragement of the adoption of the philosophy of distributed leadership rather than centralised bureaucracy.

The Committee sought wider IFA membership interactive support and involvement through an attempt to establish Biome Interest Groups transcending IFA Divisional boundaries. Unfortunately, there was insufficient interest expressed by the IFA membership to make this workable. Hence, it was accepted that the Forest Fire Management Committee shall continue to rely upon the IFA Divisions to provide it with advice on those local issues arising that may have a wider impact and may need an IFA position to be developed.

Last year two IFA Policy Papers (3.1-The role of fire in Australian forests and woodlands; and 3.2-Managing fire in Australian forests and woodlands) were reviewed and combined into a single Draft Position Paper (The Role of Fire and its Management in Australian Forests and Woodlands). Following circulation to IFA members, and addressing their comments, a final Position Paper was concluded this year and provided to the Board for approval. It is now publicly available on the IFA Website.

Working with our associated Committees (Forest Fire Management Group and NZIF Fire Committee) the IFA’s Forest Fire Management Committee has developed a Memorandum of Understanding with Portugal’s Rural Fire Management Agency. The aim is to be able to provide technical fire management support from Australia and New Zealand to the Portuguese. They acknowledge that they need to improve their wildland fire suppression knowledge

Items deliberated included the Wye River Coronial; impact of the establishment of Fire and Emergency New Zealand; improving firefighting ability; the National Fire Danger rating System Project; the WA Coroners report on the Black Creek Fire; the proposal for a Rural Fire Service in WA; the Prescribed Burning Centre of Excellence; Predictive Services; the WA prescribed burning Forum; Conferences; the Cost of fires; Performance measures; reviews of prescribed burning; and investments in fire research. Ongoing were the supportive interactions with the IFA’s Foresters Without Borders Committee; NZIF Forest Fire Committee; and the Australia - New Zealand Forest Fire Management Group.

The Committee provided a submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Select Committee Inquiry into the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2017. The submission recommended a series of principles to provide consistent, evidence and experience based fire service delivery to the community. Items presented were the recognition of volunteerism; concern regarding the undue influence of the United Firefighters Union; a recommendation that CFA staff not be transferred to the proposed Fire Rescue Victoria; encouragement of consultation with Forest Fire Management Victoria, Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water on service delivery arrangements; provision of equitable training accessibility to staff and volunteers; adoption of competency based leadership; inclusion of Forest Industry Brigades and Forest Fire Management Victoria personnel in all AIIMS Incident Management Teams involved in the suppression of fires on forested lands;

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IFA conference in Cairns. The event was received favourably by those who had the opportunity to participate. The event was oversubscribed by willing IFA mentors who generously offered their time to share their experience with the next generation. The FFI is looking to increase the size of the mentoring program to better match keen young professionals and students with our enthusiastic mentors. This aim has been significantly bolstered by the IFA obtaining a $205 000 grant for Future Forestry Leaders from the Turnbull Government’s Agricultural Industries Fund. The grant will assist in increasing the scope of the mentoring program and it will aid the FFI in establishing a series of leadership development events throughout the country for young professionals and students. In early 2018, the FFI committee welcomed new members, restructured the committee and updated our goals and strategic vision.

Looking Forward 2018/19

We have experienced a large turnover of committee members in the last 6 months. Gavin Livingston, Sarah Dickson-Hoyle, Chris Morton and Benjamin Finn have all departed from the FFI to pursue other opportunities within the industry and further study. We would like to thank these outgoing members for all their hard work in establishing the FFI as we know it today. We would also like to welcome new committee members Patrick McCarthy, Julia Fideles and Tegan Brown to the FFI. The new members are all enthusiastic about continuing the development of leadership and mentoring opportunities for future foresters. Patrick, Julia and Tegan join the FFI from a variety of backgrounds, encompassing private

but more importantly they desire to swing the pendulum towards a land management focus from the current fire suppression focus. The only obstacle to be overcome is the issue of legal liability coverage. Once achieved it is anticipated that a small group from Australia and New Zealand will be dispatched to provide advice during their fire season.

Good work has been conducted on the Committee’s Communication Strategy. It is anticipated that the implementation of this strategy will improve our effective communication with IFA members, the public, media and other professional groups. Over time it would be pleasing if the IFA could lead fire management policy debate in Australia based upon scientific evidence and professional expertise.

The IFA’s Forest Fire Management Committee membership consists of:

Tony Blanks (Secretary), Phil Cheney, Neil Cooper, Euan Ferguson, Peter Leeson, Lachie McCaw, Gary Morgan (Chairperson), Chris Morton, Mark Poynter, Ruth Ryan, and Kevin Tolhurst.

The Committee conducts its business by teleconference, supported by email. The Committee convened nine times during the twelve months to 30 June 2018.

4.3 Future Foresters Initiative2017/18The Future Foresters Initiative (FFI) ended 2017 with a highly successful mentoring event, run by committee members Sarah Dickson-Hoyle and Chris Morton at the


4.4 Jolly Medal Award CommitteeThe Jolly Medal Award Committee was reactivated under an updated Charter and Rules during 2016, with appointment of Dr Hans Drielsma (Chair), Prof Ian Ferguson and Dr Glen Kile, all previous Jolly Medal recipients.

Two awards were made at the Cairns Conference in August 2017, following a wide call for nominations from all sectors of the forestry profession. The Committee was very pleased with the range and quality of nominations received which included both men and women, practitioners in the rural farm/landcare sector as well as researchers/academics. The Awards went to Robin Youl and Christine Stone.

The Committee invited further nominations in May, with a view to making the next Award at the AFG/IFA Conference in September, 2018.

industry, government departments and the university sector and each bring a unique skill set to the committee. In conjunction with existing FFI committee members, this increased diversity will help the FFI engage more young professionals and students and increase the opportunities mentoring and growth in our sector.

The new committee members were welcomed at the FFI’s face-to-face meeting in Melbourne in May. The meeting allowed for the committee to refocus and define the FFI’s strategic goals, which include:

• Connecting students, early career researchers and professionals to the sector and each other

• Leading change within the sector to increase diversity, equality and opportunities for all foresters.

• Showing other young people that forestry is a rewarding and exciting career.

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The IFA achieved an overall operating surplus of $7,303 for the 2017/18 financial year as compared to a total operating deficit of $53,734 for 2016/17.

This is a pleasing result only made possible by making the Cairns conference surplus available to employ an administration manager full time in 2017/18 to assist in driving IFA priorities in line with the strategic plan. We have been partially successful in this with significant improvement and growth in the RPF scheme; the aim is to address the skills shortage within the industry and improve its professionalism.

The decision to host a combined IFA-AFG conference in Canberra in September 2018 was made to provide an additional income stream in our off-conference year and assist in a 2018/19 budget surplus which at this stage is unlikely.

An aging membership and insufficient new members (membership increased by a marginal $2,000 in 2017/18) is making it extremely difficult. The decision to manage the conference in house to make a higher surplus for IFA and AFG, as opposed to contracting event managers, has taken significant staff resources away from other strategic priorities and day to day activities.

Assets held in trust by the IFA are not available to the IFA and these funds are clearly set out in Note 17. These funds include Grimwade, Forestry Scholarship Fund, Environment Trust Fund, Jacobs, Henderson, Hawkins and WA Foresters Wood. Total assets, including assets held in trust, are reported to be $1,093,679 and liabilities are $838,000 with net assets at $255,679.

5. IFA Financial Report


Annual Financial Report

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Corporations Act 2001



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Income Tax Assessment Act 1997


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Corporations Regulations 2001.

Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial ReportCorporations Act 2001

Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants




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Institute of Foresters of AustraliaAdministration and Member Services Email: [email protected] | Web: www.forestry.org.au

Unit 10, Building C, Trevor Pearcey House, Traeger Crt, Bruce, ACTABN: 46 081 354 752

Annual Report - forestry.org.au Reports Financial... · Page 2 Annual Report 2017/18 It was an honour last year to be elected as President of the IFA. I would like to thank retiring

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